


Reluctant Allies

by Writers_Muse



Series: Akumatized Chat Noir Series [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, Akumatized Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chat Blanc - Freeform, F/M, Hurt Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2020-08-11 14:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20154757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writers_Muse/pseuds/Writers_Muse
Summary: “You proposed this ‘truce,’” Ladybug argued, crossing her arms.  “What are you expecting from me?”It was quiet for a few seconds as he seemed to consider that question.“I want you to let my akumas be-”“What?!”“-and in exchange,” he went on, ignoring her interruption, “I will guarantee there is no destruction to the city, as well as no play for your earrings.  Though I am quite tempted to take them now, I am a man of patience, and without your help, I don’t believe I can purify Chat Noir and get his ring.  Of course, once the goal is accomplished, all bets are off, and I will be back to pursuing you relentlessly. Do we have a deal, Ladybug?”The man came to a standing position, dusting off his clothes as though it would make him more dignified.  Ladybug narrowed her eyes and walked closer, studying him intently.“And what makes you think I won’t just take your brooch right now?”Hawkmoth sneered at her.“Because not only do you need me to draw Chat Noir into the open, but quite frankly, my dear, I’d like to see you try.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started this a while ago and only intended to post it all as a one-shot. And then it grew to over 10,000 words and counting, so I decided to post it in chapters. A companion piece for Chat/Adrien's side may appear later. Please read and let me know what you think!

Ladybug stared out bitterly at the lights of the city, fighting the tears in her eyes.

It had been a few weeks since Chat Noir had been akumatized, and even though she wasn’t entirely sure what was the reason behind it, he had been slippery enough to evade her almost the entire time.

Not to mention, Adrien’s father pulled him out of school. He said it was to keep him safe during the chaos that followed, but she never got to see him, and she had no idea how was he doing.

_ Ugh. That man. _

Chat was an odd akuma, not purposely trying to cause havoc or destruction (despite his superpower), but seemed to mostly be fond of targeting anything and everything related to Adrien Agreste. Billboards, posters, advertisements on poles and subways, and anything bearing his likeness were subjected to Chat Noir’s destructive power. But he would always flee the scene, almost without a trace.

That was when Hawkmoth approached her, in the flesh. 

It was a day or two after Chat was akumatized and subsequently went into hiding, and she had just gotten through an awkward game of cat and mouse with the compromised hero. Marinette had been walking home from the fabric store when she heard a commotion. Instinctively, she ducked into the nearest alley, transformed, and arrived just in time to catch a very white-looking Chat Noir dissolving a newsstand that was selling copies of Adrien’s most recent modelling spread.

When he caught sight of her, his eyes widened in panic before he tried to escape. But she pursued him, begging him to stop, and eventually managed to cut him off on a rooftop after he overestimated a jump and stumbled upon landing.

“_Chat. Please_,” she panted, half out of exhaustion and half out of desperation. “_Let me fix this. Let me fix you_.”

He was completely facing her then, expression a frightening cross between a sneer and a grimace.

“No! You can’t fix me, bug. I don’t want you to.”

Then he scrambled up to his feet and pulled out his baton to vault away.

“Goddammit Chat!”

Ladybug cast out her yo-yo, wrapping the fleeing hero-turned-villain in its lines.

“What happened, Chat? What do you want? How did he get to you?”

When he turned his head to face her, she unconsciously took a step back. The outright hatred in his eyes send a cold shiver down her spine.

“Adrien Agreste ruined my life. I want to destroy every evidence that he ever existed.”

She gaped, stunned, for a moment, before her protectiveness took over.

“What has Adrien ever done to you, huh?!” she shouted angrily. “Adrien is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met! Let me heal you, Chat, and everything will go back to the way it was!”

Her eyes flickered all over the figure in front of her, the image so wrong it made her feel sick. Chat simply glared at her, knowing she would never find the object, much less be able to break it.

Frustrated, she grunted and stepped closer as though to search him physically, but stopped when she heard him growl. With wide eyes, she looked up to find him practically snarling at her.

“Don’t push me, Ladybug.”

She knew what she had to do, but this behavior coming from her partner and friend made her hesitate.

“Calamity.”

Something bubbled up in his hand- something white. It was almost deceptive how pure and clear the color was, though she knew it must have an incredibly destructive power. Raising up her hands, yo-yo in her grasp, she began to back away, all the while doing her best to come up with a plan.

“Let me go,” he ordered.

Still focusing on his hand, she stopped when she felt she was far enough to be safe from his reach, should he suddenly strike.

“I can’t do that, Chat. _ Please_, I want to help you.”

There was a tense few seconds of silence, and she raised her eyes to search his expression, hoping there might be _ some _ sign of what he was going to do next.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He curled a wrist and touched the wire of her yo-yo with his Calamity. As though infected, the white essence spread along the cord, dissolving it like acid and leaving behind a pungent, sulfuric smell. Just before it reached her hand, Ladybug dropped the spool and watched in horror as it, too, dissolved into a bubbling liquid, and then into nothing.

“I’m sorry, Ladybug.”

The sound of his voice brought her out of her trance, but just as she looked up, he was bounding away over the rooftops. Once he was out of sight, she collapsed, the beeping of her earrings the only sound in the heavy quiet.

After the second or third beep, the spotted hero rose to her feet and walked to the door leading to the stairs. Once inside, she leaned against the wall and dropped her transformation, catching her little red kwami in her palms.

“Marinette-” Tikki curled up in her hands, voice weak.

“Tikki! Are you ok?” Marinette reached into her purse and pulled out a cookie, then held it up to her kwami’s lips, but the tiny sprite wasn’t strong enough to react. Instead, she lay there with eyes closed, shivering. Marinette put the cookie away and carefully tucked her into the safety of her bag. “It’s ok, Tikki. Everything is going to be ok.”

The walk to Master Fu’s felt longer than usual. As she stepped through his screen doors, unannounced, he looked up in surprise. The expression of distress on her face must have been a clue that something was truly wrong, and he dismissed the client he was with without further explanation, welcoming the girl further into the parlor. Marinette waited while the old man began to prepare tea, Tikki resting in her hands.

Once he returned to the mat, she placed the small, red being down in front of him. He examined her slowly, carefully, as Marinette began, hesitantly, to describe what happened. Nodding and humming intermittently, Master Fu listened while she explained about Chat Noir’s mysterious akumatization, as well as the slightly different destructive power he was wielding in his new form, and what it did to her yo-yo. When she was done, he sat there for a few minutes, thoughtfully stroking his goatee.

Finally, he spoke.

“My dear Ladybug, it seems that Chat Noir’s power has been corrupted by the akuma, perhaps even mutated. Normally, Tikki’s powers would protect you against the Cataclysm, but this ‘Calamity’ is not natural- not even for magic. It is almost an abomination, the merging of two powers that should never combine. With Chat Noir’s corruption, the balance between your powers has been disrupted. Your yo-yo is a part of Tikki’s power. Destroying it, without purifying the akuma and reversing the damage it caused, has harmed her, as well.”

Then he closed his eyes and began chanting lowly in a language Marinette didn’t understand. It lasted for several minutes before finally he stopped. Eyes still shut, he reached down and lifted up a small gong from the space beside him, lightly tapping it with a soft-tipped mallet. Anxious, she chewed her fingernails and waited for him to open his eyes again. When he finally did, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Is she going to be ok?”

Just then, Tikki groaned a little and turned over, her large, blue eyes blinking open blearily.

“_Ohh, Tikki_,” the raven-haired girl breathed. With two cupped hands she reached down to scoop the kwami up and bring her close.

“Tikki will be fine,” Master Fu answered, causing Marinette to glance up. “But make sure to avoid such a thing happening again. Chat Noir must be purified as soon as possible, but be extra careful when dealing with him. Akumas are already unpredictable, but neither of your are what you should be at this moment in time. Should his akumatization continue for too long, it could have dire consequences.”

Marinette swallowed but nodded, determined.

“Thank you, Master Fu.”

She stood and placed Tikki carefully in her purse, then bowed before exiting the parlor. In no real hurry to get home, she walked slowly down the street, eyes darting about as she considered Fu’s words. What would happen in Chat Noir wasn’t purified soon enough? He was surely the most difficult akuma she had ever faced, and for reasons she didn’t quite understand. She had no idea what was his motivation, and had no clue as to his goal, other than wiping out every sign of Adrien’s existence. Frowning, she paused. Perhaps she should start there. Surely Adrien did nothing wrong, but it was possible he knew what Chat’s hatred of him was about.

Idea in mind, Marinette ducked into an alley.

“Tikki, do you feel up to transforming?”

The giant bug peeked out from her purse, eyed round and shoving the rest of a cookie in her mouth.

“Ready when you are, Marinette,” she said around a mouthful.

From the street, there was barely a flash of pink, and seconds later, Ladybug launched up and over the rooftops, headed for Agreste manor.

Her welcome, however, was less than warm.

Foregoing the security gate, she landed directly in front of the mansion’s main doors, knocking loudly so as to be heard. When the doors opened, a thin woman with glasses stood in the way, the doors held back by a burly, giant man. Both stared at her with unreadable expressions. Finally, the woman spoke.

“Miss Ladybug, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”

From the way she said the words, the spotted hero was pretty sure she didn’t mean them.

“I need to see Monsieur Agreste. It’s about an important matter which I prefer not to discuss with anyone else.”

The woman looked at her, unblinking, before turning around.

“Follow me,” she said, and stepped further into the interior. Light steadily decreased as the doors began to close behind them until they shut completely with a clang. The only sound after that was the click of the woman’s heels on the pristine, white marble floor tiles.

The two of them walked through labyrinthian halls and cavernous rooms. At one point, they passed by the portrait of Adrien and his father, and the coldness and sadness she saw in their figures sent a shiver through her. She shook her head and kept going.

At last, they came to Gabriel Agreste’s office. After a knock on the door, his monotone voice was heard from within.

“Come in.”

The doors parted, revealing another large room, deep and high enough to swallow her family’s entire apartment. She looked around briefly, despite having been there before, and realized nothing had changed in the room- not from the framed photos of Adrien hanging on the wall to the giant Gustav Klimt-style portrait of his wife behind the desk. At last, Ladybug’s eyes came to rest on the man in question. She startled when she realized he had been watching her the whole time.

“Miss Ladybug,” he greeted stoically, then looked to the side. “Thank you, Nathalie.”

Ladybug turned, noticing that the assistant who let her in was exiting the room and closing the doors behind her. Suddenly, she had the feeling of being a butterfly trapped in a very large jar.

“Would you like to have a seat?”

The question brought her back to reality. Doing her best to calm herself, she took a step forward.

“That will not be necessary, Monsieur Agreste. Truthfully, I am here to ask your permission to speak to Adrien.”

The man’s expression seemed to turn even colder.

“And why is that?”

Ladybug gulped, nervous under the intensity of his gaze.

“I’m sure you have noticed a pattern in Chat Noir’s activity since his akumatization.”

Gabriel gave no response. Ladybug continued on.

“It has been brought to my attention that Chat Noir may have a grudge against your son personally, and I would like to speak with Adrien to find out if there is anyone who he might have offended, even if it was unintentional. Please, Monsieur Agreste. There is a possibility that Adrien may know something to help me bring Chat Noir’s akumatization to an end sooner rather than later. I hope you understand. I have all of Paris’s safety resting on my shoulders.”

“That is not possible.”

The girl was visibly taken aback, stunned that he would refuse her request.

“Ah, Monsieur Agreste, I know you are trying to protect your son, but-”

“Yes,” he cut her off, coming out from behind his desk and crossing the distance between them. “I _ am _ protecting my son. Adrien knows nothing about Chat Noir’s feelings toward him. There is nothing he can say to help you. Now, why don’t you leave the safety of my son to me, and you can worry about the rest of Paris.”

Frustrated, she clenched her fists, but knew there was nothing else she could do.

Gabriel was standing quite close by that point, and without warning, he leaned in a little closer. Ladybug pulled back unconsciously, feeling very much like a specimen under the lens of a microscope.

His eyes zeroed in on her earrings, and one hand began to rise as though to touch them. She stumbled backward and out of reach.

“Your earrings are quite unique,” he said, hand slowly returning to his side. “I wonder, where did you find them?”

Ladybug took a tentative step back.

“They found me,” she said, and turned for the door. “I really must be going. Excuse me.”

Gabriel stood in place for several minutes after she was gone, barely even noticing when Nathalie returned.

“Sir? Any news of Adrien?”

Startling out of his trance, the aging man shook his head, then pivoted around to walk back toward his desk. But he stopped in front of the portrait of his wife, and touched it thoughtfully.

“No. She believes Adrien can help her to catch Chat Noir. She has no idea the two are the same person.”

Then he returned to his desk and took a seat.

“But, sir, do you not think it might be time to ask for her help? Adrien has already cut off your control of him when he destroyed the object and-”

“No!” his loud, stern voice echoed throughout the room, silencing the woman. When he spoke again, however, it was much more controlled. “There is still time to fix this,” he reasoned, habitually straightening his cravat and momentarily revealing a glimpse of the brooch behind it. “I am narrowing down his location more everyday, and when he appears, I will send akumas to subdue him and bring him to me. We will deal with his... situation when he’s safely at home.”

Nathalie nodded and, without a word, left the room.

Gabriel sat at his desk for long moments, unable to truly see anything in front of him, before moving back to the painting and inserting his fingers into a series of hidden buttons. The floor immediately opened in an outward spiral, revealing a platform underneath. Gabriel stepped onto its surface and disappeared as it descended, the floor closing over it once again.

Across the city, Ladybug was landing on her roof with a pronounced thud of vexation. She had never met anyone as single-minded as Gabriel Agreste, and, professional idolization aside, considered him one of the most incompetent parents of all time. The way he managed to simultaneously hold Adrien too close and keep him at arm’s length was both impressive and appalling. At her wit’s end, Ladybug shook her head and dropped her transformation.

Once back in her room, she plopped angrily into her desk chair and rolled with more force than necessary toward her computer. There had to be some news about Chat Noir that she hadn’t read yet, and she was determined to find it. Any clue would be helpful in healing her partner and bringing him home where he belonged.

She wasn’t engaged in her task for more than half an hour when the akuma alert sounded on her phone. It was less than convenient, especially considering she was working without her partner, and from what Master Fu had told her, her powers were out of balance. Marinette and Tikki shared a concerned look.

“Are you ready for this, Marinette?”

The girl set her jaw and slung her purse over her shoulder.

“We don’t really have a choice. Tikki, spots on.”

Marinette disappeared in a flash of pink, and Ladybug emerged out onto the roof, then swung away in the blink of an eye.

The akuma wasn’t anything extraordinary, but the fight was unusual nonetheless.

Ladybug was well in her comfort zone battling the villain. It called itself Huntress, and had the power to track down any target it wished. It was not giant by any means, but significantly taller than an average human, with long, flowing hair pulled back at the ears, and eyes that burned red when it caught the scent of its prey. There was what appeared to be a whip in one hand, though the other was empty.

She wasn’t entirely sure why this person had been akumatized, or where the infected object was yet, but she was quickly narrowing down the possibilities when something peculiar happened.

As the fight continued, she began to realize that the akuma wasn’t actively targeting her. If anything, she was pursuing the akuma, and the akuma was only fighting back in an effort to keep her at bay. Frustrated and confused, she cast out her yo-yo in an attempt to wrangle the villain, only for it to turn around, catch her string on its arm, and pull on it hard. She was caught off guard and lurched forward. From her spot on the floor, she could see a necklace around its neck- something small and difficult to see from far away- and knew she found her item.

“Stop pestering me, you little flea,” it sneered. “Your time will come, but I have other tasks to complete first.”

Then, with a jerk of the arm, the line went slack for a second before Ladybug flicked her wrist and retracted it.

The akuma already had its back to her, and was walking off in the opposite direction. Curious, she followed behind more discreetly, remaining on the ground and hiding behind various objects.

“Heeere, kitty, kitty,” it called out in a taunting voice. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

Ladybug frowned, but kept following and out of sight. What did the akuma want with just Chat Noir- and an _ akuma _ Chat Noir? Perhaps Hawkmoth was looking to turn the villainized hero against his former partner?

The akuma kept on talking.

“Someone’s been very naughty. It’s time to come home to daddy~”

Then she heard a hiss, and a flash of white appeared out of nowhere.

It tackled the akuma, snarling and biting at the poor victim, and wrestled it to the ground.

“_Stay away from my lady_,” Chat growled in an almost animal voice, “_If you touch one hair on her head, I’ll destroy you until there’s nothing left to find. Leave me alone! Calamity!_”

Terrified of what he was about to do, she burst out from behind a car, shouting, “_Chat, no!_”

Stunned, the white feline turned to face her, eyes practically glowing a radioactive green even from a distance. There was white bubbling in his right hand, which was upraised and poised to slash the akuma pinned below him. He looked back down at the akuma’s face, growled one last time, and yanked at the necklace. The victim screamed in anguish as the necklace dissolved like molten lava, releasing a particularly weak-looking purple butterfly. It dropped as it struggled to fly away, and Ladybug was almost too stunned by the sight to move. The person below Chat Noir morphed back into her normal form, but the transformation was much slower than it should have been, and the woman left behind appeared more than disoriented- she seemed as though she was on the brink of passing out.

As Ladybug watched the scene, she came back to her senses, then lifted up her yo-yo to catch and cleanse the butterfly.

But just before she was able to cast it out, she was surprised to see Chat Noir lunge for it, catching it in his grasp, crushing it tight in his fist, and then stuffing it in his mouth. She looked on in horror as he chewed the insect and swallowed, leveling her with a glare before commanding, “Don’t follow me,” and taking off at a remarkable speed.

She couldn’t have been more than two seconds behind him, but when she turned the first corner she saw him disappear behind, there was nothing to be found- only a dead end.

Ladybug stood there for a moment, completely at a loss. She had never seen an akuma eaten before, never not been able to reverse the damage.

The hand holding her yo-yo lifted it up for view as she considered her next move. There wasn’t really any major damage anywhere. The most the akuma had done was search the city for Chat Noir. It didn’t even try to destroy anything, not really. Did she need to cast the miraculous cure?

Deciding it was best to be safe than sorry, she tossed the yo-yo in the air and uttered an unenthusiastic, “Lucky Charm.”

But nothing fell into her hands.

She tried again, a bit louder this time.

“Lucky Charm!”

But nothing happened.

Her Lucky Charm didn’t work?

What was she supposed to do now?

Ladybug walked slowly out of the alley, a trembling mess, and discovered the akuma victim was still lying on the ground, now unconscious. She hurried over to the woman’s side, checking her pulse and breathing to see if she was ok before lifting up the woman in her arms and casting out her yo-yo. She could have called for an ambulance, but it would have taken longer.

When the spotted hero landed in front of the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris, apparently exhausted with an unconscious woman in her arms, there was a moment of panic. Nurses rushed over to take the woman from her, a few others tried to convince her to let them examine her as well, but she refused.

Within an hour, the victim- a Marie Dubois- was resting in a hospital bed and connected to a series of monitors, an IV in one arm. Ladybug watched her from the hallway, doing her best to ignore the whispers of everyone around her. A nearby television seemed to be airing the latest news: in a shocking and disheartening event, Ladybug failed to purify an akuma for the first time since Stoneheart.

But she wasn’t ready to think about that yet, not when this woman’s well-being had been compromised. She knew deep down it wasn’t her fault, but then again, who else’s could it be? Certainly not the woman’s, and certainly not Chat Noir’s, who were both just victims. Her mind settled on the true culprit, and she clenched a fist.

_ Hawkmoth. _

Just then someone sidled up beside her, and she found herself brought out of her introspective trance. The doctor attending to Marie Dubois held out a hand, which she shook, and introduced himself.

“Ladybug, I’m Dr. Moreau. Pleasure to meet you.”

She nodded but said nothing.

“Can we talk somewhere more private?”

The heroine nodded again, then followed as the man turned and led her to an empty exam room, closing the door behind them.

“Ms. Dubois seems to be in a coma, but how long it lasts or what exactly has caused it, we do not know. Is there anything you can tell us about what happened that will help us to treat her?”

It was a terrifying moment. The weight of her failure felt as though it would crush her. Her chest felt tight, and her vision swam, and it took several moments of deep, controlled breathing before she could respond.

“She fought with Chat Noir.”

The doctor said nothing, only raised his eyebrows.

“He’s an akuma right now, I’m sure you’ve heard. He fought with her, but he didn’t do anything that should have led to this.”

She shrugged helplessly, unsure what else to say.

The man in front of her nodded, eyeing her carefully.

“She doesn’t appear to have any other physical injuries other than bruising, not even a blow to the head. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Ladybug stood, staring silently at the ground.

“Is there... any reason why your usual cure didn’t work?”

Her head flew up, eyes wide with alarm as he watched her.

“I can’t tell you that,” she finally said. It was dangerous to disclose anything about the miraculous magic, even about Chat Noir’s akumatized power, not that he would understand, anyway, so she kept it to herself.

He didn’t seem convinced, but he nodded anyway, then grabbed the handle to the door and pulled.

“Thank you for your time, Ladybug.”

Once again, the spotted hero nodded, then took her leave.

It was hours later, after the sun had gone down, that she sat atop the Eiffel tower, looking out over the city. After she returned home from the hospital, she found her parents sitting on the couch, watching the news about Ladybug and the latest akuma. Her appearance in the hospital sent off reports of its own, too, and it didn’t take long for people to piece together than the woman who was admitted was the akuma victim. Begging off of dinner, she stayed locked in her room until the sun went down and her parents went to sleep, then transformed again and swung aimlessly about the city. Before she was even aware she was heading there, the Eiffel tower was looming overhead.

Thoughts whirled through her mind, chasing each other in circles as she tried to figure out what had happened, what had gone wrong. She knew it had to be related to what Master Fu said about the imbalance of their powers from Chat Noir’s akumatization, but what she couldn’t understand was why he had eaten the akuma, and what kind of effect that would have on him. Even more important: how was she supposed to get it out of him to purify it? And what was the object that was originally infected?

So deep in her thoughts was she, that she didn’t even notice a dark figure approaching until there was a thud of boots behind her. Half expecting to find her partner, completely fine and back to his old self, she turned around. But the hopeful look on her face quickly fell when she saw who was joining her.

There was no mistaking the purple suit and silver mask.

“_Hawkmoth_.”

Her arch nemesis simply stood there, staring at her stoically and sending unnerving tingles down her spine.

“What are you doing here?” she asked warily, taking a step back and unconsciously reaching for the yo-yo on her hip.

He was silent for a moment, seeming to size her up.

“I come to propose... a temporary truce. An armistice, if you will.”

She stood there, shocked and gaping.

“I don’t understand. Why?” Her hand gripped the yo-yo tightly. This had to be some sort of trick.

But, contrary to what she was expecting, the villain sighed, moving as though to take a seat on the far side of the girder she was perched on, comfortably out of reach.

“You and I have a... common goal right now. You want to see Chat Noir purified, and so do I.”

_ What? _

“You do?” Ladybug couldn’t help that her voice squeaked when she asked that question. That didn’t make any sense. “Why would you want that?”

Hawkmoth’s eyes flashed with irritation before he looked off into the distance.

“Chat Noir... is not currently under my control. I have no influence over him, and frankly, he is getting in my way. I want my akuma back.”

Ladybug considered these words, evaluating them for sincerity.

“And... how did he do that?”

The masked man leveled her with a glare.

“He broke the object holding the akuma and ate it. Now he has all of the ability and negative emotion and none of the control. He’s a menace.”

Something twisted painfully in Ladybug’s chest. He really did that? If she had not seen what he did earlier that day, she never would have believed it. Why would he do that?

“But... I can’t find him. He’s nowhere. Why did he get akumatized, can you tell me that? Maybe that will help us find him.”

Hawkmoth gave her another cold look.

“This is not something you need to know. Trust me when I say it will not lead you to him.”

Ladybug clenched her fists, taking a bold step forward.

“Then what do you propose we do? You’re the villain here. Hiding must be something you’re very good at.”

His eyes narrowed behind the mask, but she didn’t back down.

“You’re quite bold for someone so little, Ladybug.”

“And you’re quite ignorant for someone so arrogant, _ Hawkmoth_.”

The two stared at each other, anger burning in both their gazes.

“You proposed this ‘truce,’” Ladybug argued, crossing her arms. “What are you expecting from me?”

It was quiet for a few seconds as he seemed to consider that question.

“I want you to let my akumas be-”

“What?!”

“-and _ in exchange_,” he went on, ignoring her interruption, “I will guarantee there is no destruction to the city, as well as no play for your earrings. Though I am quite tempted to take them now, I am a man of patience, and without your help, I don’t believe I can purify Chat Noir and get his ring. Of course, once the goal is accomplished, all bets are off, and I will be back to pursuing you relentlessly. Do we have a deal, Ladybug?”

The man came to a standing position, dusting off his clothes as though it would make him more dignified. Ladybug narrowed her eyes and walked closer, studying him intently.

“And what makes you think I won’t just take your brooch right now?”

Hawkmoth sneered at her.

“Because not only do you need me to draw Chat Noir into the open, but quite frankly, my dear, I’d like to see you try.”

Then he took a couple of steps back.

“Think about it.”

And with that, he stretched out his arms and dove over the side.

In a panic, Ladybug looked down to see which way he fell, only to catch a glimpse of something dark blue and winged swooped underneath the falling man’s form. Wings spread wide, then wrapped around him, and in a spiral, they glided out of view. _ Mayura. _

Ladybug shook her head and cast out her yo-yo, almost unwilling to believe what she had just experienced.

The following day was thankfully less eventful. There were no akuma attacks, and she didn’t suit up to go out searching for Chat Noir. She needed time to think.

Hawkmoth’s proposal, at first reaction, was completely repulsive. Work with her enemy, the one responsible for this whole entire mess? Just thinking about her beloved partner made her heart ache. She had no idea what he had been through to become akumatized in the first place, much less what he had been through since it began. 

Question after question raced through her mind, barely stopping long enough to be heard, but the same one kept reappearing over and over again. If Chat was self-aware enough to break his own akumatized object, then why would he choose to eat the akuma, instead of calling his partner and letting her cleanse it? Until he was in his right mind, there was no way she was ever going to get an answer to that question. Hawkmoth surely knew what made him so upset that he became vulnerable, and he wasn’t sharing. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that, whatever that reason was, it would negatively affect the villain if she knew. Why else would he care enough to keep it a secret?

As the sky became darker, she wondered when Hawkmoth would appear in front of her again, and what would she say to him? The longer she thought about it, the more she hated the idea of being on any sort of same side with him, but the more she realized that it was a necessary evil. She would probably never find Chat Noir on her own, or it would take so long, that their powers would be dangerously altered. She already experienced a failed lucky charm. What was next? Would that happen every time? What if she couldn’t transform?

Darkness descended, and the lights of the city began to shine brighter. Finally resolved, she suited up and made her way about the streets, swinging from one to the next, wondering if she might catch Hawkmoth lurking about anywhere. Of course, he was nowhere to be found, so at long last she returned to the same spot she had been sitting the night before, and waited.

In less than an hour, there was the familiar thud of someone landing behind her. She wasn’t surprised this time, though, to turn and find the man she had spent half the day imagining stringing up and hanging upside down from the very same spot.

“Good evening, Ladybug,” he greeted.

“Cut the crap,” she spat, then took a step closer, and he eyed her suspiciously. “Let’s just get this over with. I don’t want to spend anymore time in your presence than I have to.”

The villain smirked contemptuously and held out a hand.

“So we have a deal?”

Ladybug’s lip curled at the sight.

“We have a deal, but I’m not shaking your hand. We are _ not _ on the same side, even if we have to work together.”

He pulled back his hand, but didn’t seem perturbed.

“Glad to know the feeling is mutual.”

It was difficult, but she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“Consider that the only thing we will ever agree on. Now, this plan that you have about akumas- I don’t like it. It puts the public too much at risk.”

This time, it was the older man who rolled his eyes.

“I have already told you there will be no targeting of civilians.”

“I don’t care,” she retorted bluntly. “I don’t trust you. And you can bet I know that as soon as Chat Noir is free, you’re going to try to use a moment of weakness against me to try to get my earrings.”

It was almost sickening watching Hawkmoth smile.

“You’re brighter than I give you credit for.”

Ladybug clenched her jaw, muscles in her cheeks ticking with the movement.

“I want you to create champions for me instead. Like the miraculous you’re wearing was intended to do.”

In response, he looked down at her from his height, contempt clear in his eyes. Ladybug kept talking.

“And when it’s all over, you _ will _ hand that miraculous over to me.”

As though amused, he chuckled lowly.

“I can promise you that will _ never _ happen. You do things your way, Ladybug, and I’ll do them mine.” Hawkmoth raised his cane and bowed at the waist. “_Pleasure_, my dear,” he said, then straightened and jumped off the side.

“Wait!” she called, but was too late. He had already been swept away by his ally.

Ladybug sighed in exhaustion and exasperation. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, she would keep looking for Chat Noir. If only she could get in to talk to Adrien....

If Gabriel was unwilling to let her see him, perhaps it was time to consider finding other ways to get into Agreste manor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's struggle to capture and heal Chat Noir becomes more urgent as she discovers new complications.

Despite the way her relentless search for Chat had left her exhausted, Marinette was unable to sleep that night. Thoughts and ideas raced through her mind in no specific order, few of them stopping long enough to be heard. She wondered what Hawkmoth would do next. She wondered how she was going to find Chat, and when, and where. She wondered what happened between him and Adrien, and she wondered how much longer she had before her powers became too unstable.

When at last the sun rose, she lumbered out of bed with a deep groan. A hot shower helped wake her up some, but she was severely low on energy, and it showed in her complexion. There were large, dark bags under her eyes, and the fair skin of her face was sallow and drawn. In context of the situation, however, her appearance was the least of her worries, and she dressed for school with no real effort to conceal the look of death on her features.

Walking to school, though short, was another labor of its own. Her legs felt heavy, and she wondered how she would ever make it long enough to visit the Agrestes after the school day was over. With a streak of determination and about a liter of heavily caffeinated espresso, she trudged through the school building’s front doors.

Alya and Nino were waiting for her in class, as usual. Ever since Adrien had been pulled out of school, the environment was a lot quieter, more somber. Everyone felt sorry for him, and several were concerned by Chat’s apparent hostile behavior directed at him personally. The only loud person in the room, of course, was Chloe, who daily ranted about how her father was going to: first, arrest Chat Noir; second, take Hawkmoth down; and last, convince Monsieur Agreste to let _ her _ “Adrikins” return to school.

Nino seemed to take his absence the hardest, though, even if he didn’t explicitly show it. Since the unlucky boy had left, Nino didn’t receive a single call or text message from him. He spent even more time with Alya than usual, but Marinette could see the slump in his shoulders, and the way his smile didn’t reach as high. Not that she could blame him. She was in the same boat. In fact, she was quite distraught over Adrien’s disappearance from their lives, but was too wrapped up in Chat Noir’s case to focus much on how to get the (other) blond back. If anything, she reasoned, the best thing she could do to help Adrien would be to purify Chat, and so she spent most of her energy trying to solve the mystery of her partner’s akumatization.

Alya’s increased time with Nino, then, was actually a blessing. Marinette felt less guilty about ditching her best friend for undisclosed reasons when that friend was already busy with someone else.

It didn’t stop Alya from noticing Marinette’s gaunt appearance, though. Looking for Chat Noir had been doing a number on her, and she had even dropped weight in the few days he had been missing from lack of sleep and appetite.

So when the raven-haired girl walked into the classroom that morning, dark blue-black tresses making her already pale appearance even more dramatic, Alya’s jaw nearly hit the floor, her eyes filling with concern.

But it was Nino who spoke first.

“Holy shit, nana. You don’t look so good.”

Marinette barely had the energy to give him a half-hearted glare as she made her way up the steps to her seat, cup of coffee raised to her lips for another long drink.

“Couldn’t sleep,” was all she managed to respond before she plopped down in her chair with a tired grimace and dropped her bags haphazardly on the floor beside her.

Alya half rose out of her chair, murmuring something into Nino’s ear. The bespectacled boy nodded, and she grabbed her belongings, then moved up to sit in the empty seat beside her friend.

“Hey, girl,” she began, brow furrowed in concern. Her elbow rested on the table, her cheek on the back of her curled knuckles as she gave the noirette her full attention. “How you holding up? I didn’t realize Adrien being gone was affecting you this much. You should have come and talked to me.”

Marinette didn’t want to lie, but there was no way she could tell Alya that most of her stress these days wasn’t coming from Adrien Agreste’s absence. While she couldn’t wait to see him again, at least she was sure that he was home safe. Chat Noir, on the other hand... she had no idea what he was doing, where he was, or what he was going through. Was the real Chat somewhere in there, suffering while someone that looked like him controlled his every action?

The very thought made her eyes prick with tears, making her response unnecessary. Alya took one look at the sullen girl and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug while she stroked her back comfortingly.

“Hey, shhh, it’s going to be ok. Adrien will be back, you’ll see,” she whispered in Marinette’s ear.

Warm, quiet tears spilled slowly over her cheeks, and she drew in a shuddering breath.

“I just hope he’s ok,” she finally said, and strictly speaking, it was true.

“I know, honey, I know.”

Alya continued to rub her back while she soundlessly released some of her pent up feelings. After a few minutes, Marinette drew back with a small smile, red sclera now added to her list of unflattering traits.

“Thanks, Alya.”

The rest of the day passed in somewhat of a haze. Marinette couldn’t find the strength of will to focus on, much less participate in, any of her classes, couldn’t bring herself to care. By the time the last bell rang, she simply lifted up her bag to her shoulders (having not removed anything out of it since lunch), and headed for the door. With a short delay to reassure Alya that she would, in fact, be fine, she begged off a day of girl time, requested a rain check, and disappeared as blearily as she had come.

Ducking into an empty alley and out of view, she took a final swig of espresso (which her parents kindly provided for her during the midday break), called for her transformation, and swung up over the buildings.

Agreste manor wasn’t that far, and with the sudden burst of caffeine-powered energy, Ladybug found herself nearly racing across the rooftops.

But a few streets from where she would descend back down to street level, something large, white, and heavy plowed into her, throwing her off guard and across the gap she was already midway over.

Ladybug rolled to a stop on the next roof, hands coming up to cradle her head protectively on instinct. Once she was sure her body had stopped, her eyes slammed open, and she reflexively hopped up into a defensive stance.

She was expecting an akuma, or even worse, Hawkmoth, but she wasn’t expecting her partner.

Feet wide apart, fists raised, she warily considered the miraculous holder across from her.

“Chat.”

To her surprise, the white feline hissed.

“Stay away from Gabriel Agreste,” he growled, causing her to frown, but she straightened and lowered her fists anyway.

“Chat? What’s wrong with you? Why won’t you let me help you?”

The akumatized hero’s eyes darted about crazily as though a manifestation of the thoughts and emotions flickering rapidly across his face.

Ladybug took a step closer, but he backed away, shoulders hunching closely around his neck and lower arms raising up, fingers curled like claws. Internally she mused that, if he had hackles, they were sure to be raised.

Instead of taking another step, she stopped and looked at him, searching his eyes for some sign of the friend and partner she knew.

“Why are you eating akumas?”

Since she saw it for herself, the thought had been playing in her mind on a relentless repeat. So much so that the words were out of her mouth almost before she even registered them as a potential utterance.

The hue of Chat’s eyes took on a deep, dangerous green, like the color of a forest floor once the sun has been filtered out. Then, he sneered.

“I’m going to eat each and every single one until there’s nothing he can do to stop me. Until he comes crawling on his knees to beg for my mercy.”

The hatred in his voice sent a cold shiver down her spine, and she shuddered.

“Chat-” she tried, habitually stepping forward again, but his upper lip curled into a snarl, and his claws seem to grow longer, almost glinting in the sunlight. Again, she stopped in both speech and movement.

“I don’t want to hurt you, bug, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep him at bay. It’s best if you stay out of my way.”

“Chat! Don’t do this! You’re hurting us both! If you don’t stop this, our-”

Without warning, before she even saw him coming, he was directly in front of her, one clawed hand curling around her throat. She could feel their sharp points pricking into the skin of her neck, could see the murky river of his eyes as they looked intently into hers. A spark of fear lit through her. Ladybug’s hands came up to grasp reflexively around his wrist. Though he wasn’t squeezing tight enough to cut off her air supply completely, it was enough to leave her in a panic.

“Stay away from Gabriel Agreste.”

“I-” she rasped with some effort, voice box partially constricted. “I just want to see Adrien.”

For a fraction of a second, the color of his eyes changed to their former meadow-green, and he dropped the hand holding her neck, then stepped back. But as quickly as it appeared, that flash of the boy within disappeared again.

“Leave him alone,” Chat growled. “He’s bad luck, and he’ll turn your world to ash with a single touch.”

“Wha-”

But before she could even ask the question that had barely begun to form in her brain, Chat was vaulting up and away, the white of his suit briefly glimmering in the light. She wanted to follow him and figure out where he was hiding, _ what _ he was hiding, and purify his akumas, but after their brief encounter, she felt completely unprepared for another confrontation.

Instead, she turned, limbs shaking, and swung herself the last few blocks to Agreste manor, then paused on a nearby rooftop to compose herself. It would do no good to appear in front of Adrien in shambles. Approaching him was already difficult, but with the way her nerves had just been frazzled, she was afraid he would take one look at her and consider her completely incompetent.

A few minutes of closed eyes and deep breaths later, she resolutely cast out her yo-yo and launched directly for the mansion. Of course, unlike last time, she wasn’t aiming for the front door. Bypassing the main entrance completely, she latched her yo-yo onto an overhang close to Adrien’s bedroom, then slowly, carefully, lowered herself down to the window-level. To her surprise, Adrien was nowhere in sight. With some hesitation, she knocked on the window she recalled using the past whenever Ladybug made a house call, but received no response.

At last, desperate and afraid of being seen, she tested the window, only to find it open. It arched silently under her touch, allowing her to duck underneath its wide berth. Acutely alert of her surroundings, she shut it quietly once again behind her, then reluctantly made her way further into the room.

“Adrien?” she called out in a near-whisper. There was no response, so she took a few more steps, eyes darting around in search of any sign of his whereabouts. “Adrien?” she tried again, a little louder this time, but still heard nothing.

Emboldened by his apparent absence and her own bravado, she stepped a bit more resolutely into the room, posture straightening. The tremble in her limbs subsided, and she began to rifle around his room with far less reluctance. Her fingers drifted over books, desk tops, papers, and other paraphernalia. There was a small stack of papers by the computer, a pencil resting beside it, and Adrien’s book bag on the floor by the chair, partially open. With a closer look, Marinette realized it was the homework they had had the week before or so, just before Chat Noir had been akumatized and Adrien had left school. It looked like he didn’t even finish it. But why would he keep it? And why was it still sitting on his desk as though he simply left for a snack and never returned to finish it? It was odd.

But, upon closer inspection, what was even more confusing was the thin layer of dust that she found was collecting on the desk- computer, paper, pencil, and all. Frowning, she drew a single finger over the surface, raising it close to her eyes and narrowing them as she considered the gray-white residue on her gloved fingertip. With a thoughtful pursing of the lips, she stood from her bent over position, cleaning the dust from her finger on her leg, and resumed her exploration of the room.

Other surfaces seemed to have a similar layer of dust- about a week’s worth in a room that hadn’t been opened? she wondered. If Adrien’s father pulled him out of school, then where was he? She had assumed he had been tutored at home since then, but evidence was suggesting otherwise. Was Gabriel so afraid for his son’s safety that he sent him somewhere else entirely?

But he had told Ladybug that Adrien was safe at home- well, he had insinuated as much, but come to think of it, he had never explicitly said that.

Why would he want her, the hero of Paris who could help to protect him, to think he was somewhere he wasn’t?

New questions began to burn in her mind, and her search of the room intensified. She began to move about freely, quickly, looking at everything from his collection of movies, games, and books, to the contents of his closet, and even his bathroom (which contained a few outfits of dirty clothes in a hamper- something she recalled him wearing the week he disappeared). A mini-fridge of aging Camembert confused her a little. Finally, she came to his computer, and hesitated as she considered the invasion of his privacy. After a few moments of internal back and forth, however, she sat down in the chair and jiggled the mouse to bring the computer to life.

Her own face greeted her on the screen, and it took her a little aback. Pushing past the embarrassment (and the resulting blush), she started to look over the files on his desktop. There were several, some specifically for each of his outside tutoring subject (a folder for his Mandarin lessons, a folder with endless pages of sheet music for the piano, even electronic books detailing fencing techniques). There were also folders about Ladybug and Chat Noir- though she noted that some of them were favorited articles on The Ladyblog and other sites, most of them were saved images, predominantly of her by herself, but also some of both of them together.

Ladybug’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson. Was it possible… did Adrien Agreste have a celebrity crush on her?

The very thought was almost intoxicatingly pleasing, realizing that they liked each other on at least that level, even if he didn’t realize the girl he liked was Marinette. But the next moment, it just made her sad. Adrien could like Ladybug all he wanted, but he didn’t really know her. It was a shallow crush at best, and she would never act on it while in the suit- half because it would be irresponsible, and half because she could never take advantage of her friend (or anyone, for that matter) in that way.

Slightly dejected, she closed the folder, then looked through a few others, most containing assignments he had completed for various classes.

At last, once she felt she had searched every corner of the room but had come up with nothing, she headed back for the window.

The sun was getting low in the sky. It was remarkable how the past few hours had passed so quickly, yet yielded nothing fruitful in return. With a sigh, Ladybug lifted up the window pane, one leg hanging inside the room, the other bent and perched on the rim of the glass. She looked around one last time, everything just as it had been when she arrived, and wondered aloud:

“Where are you, Adrien Agreste?”

Then, she turned away, cast out her yo-yo, and swung off into the Parisian evening.

But her deep, perturbed thoughts wouldn’t leave her.

Ladybug tossed about the city aimlessly, somehow even more confused about the state of things than she had been before she visited Adrien’s room. Now, there was the added question mark of just what had happened to him and where he was. Was he safe? She assumed so, but she couldn’t shake the fear that he might be in some grave danger. Had Chat Noir actually found him? It’s not like he didn’t know where he lived in the first place. She herself had entered his room so easily….

Well, she guessed that about settled it. Gabriel must have realized his son was still quite vulnerable, even in his own home, and sent him away somewhere far and secret.

And yet- his things, his possessions- they all looked so _ untouched_. His remote controller was still on the coffee table in front of the couch in his room. There was a book on his nightstand that had a bookmark sticking out from the top as though he had set it down and never resumed it. His clothes were left dirty in the hamper- hell, his room hadn’t been cleaned in days. It seemed the opposite of the way things _ should _ be. Wouldn’t Adrien take the book he was reading with him? Wouldn’t his father, the obsessive man, want the room kept pristine? Did he not want anyone going in that room? Did he... not want anyone knowing Adrien wasn’t there?

With every toss, her grip became tighter and tighter. The sun began to sink below the horizon until the lights of the city outshined the dusky glow. Ladybug landed at last, exhausted and out of breath, on the top of Notre Dame, then collapsed out of view.

Her back rested against the slanted surface, and she gazed at the space where the spire used to rise up majestically. Her own rooftop terrace was so close, yet with the way she felt like she might pass out from exhaustion at any moment, it felt so far away. Surely, she thought somewhat absently, her parents were wondering where she was. Surely, she should go home and get some rest, maybe take a day off from school the next day to catch up on some much needed sleep before coming up with a plan to deal with Chat Noir.

Her body was too tired for her mind, though, which was somewhere between the waking world and the world of dreams, so that, as she lay there on the roof of Notre Dame, somewhere in her mind, she thought she had made it home to bed.

With a quiet whisper, eyes falling closed, she murmured, “Tikki, spots off,” and drifted off to a state of unconsciousness. Immediately, the small, red kwami flitted about her head, trying to wake the girl up, until a noise sent her straight for her purse instead.

So it was that, as Marinette Dupain-Cheng lay atop a dark corner of Notre Dame, a pair of glowing, forest green eyes were watching her.

For long moments, they didn’t move, didn’t blink.

Then, with the stealth of a lion in the sahara, a figure in white slowly crept out of the shadows.

He ambled noiselessly up to the girl’s sleeping form, her eyebrows furrowed in sleep, her blue-black fringe messily falling over her forehead. With a single claw, he reached out and brushed the hair back, his knuckle brushing softly over her cheek in the process.

“Sweet dreams, _ purr_-incess.”

Two arms curled under her knees and back and lifted her up effortlessly into the villain-hero’s embrace. Her own came up instinctively to cradle his neck, and she curled closer against him.

Chat padded on silent feet to the roof’s crest and down the other side until he reached a maintenance platform.

“Hold on tight,” he whispered in her ear, then pressed the button on his baton. It extended automatically, sending them flying up in a wide arc. When they landed on a lower platform, he stopped, retracting the staff, and looked at the girl in his arms. She frowned a little deeper, squeezing tighter around his neck and mumbling in her sleep. A small smile played at his lips, and he walked closer to the edge, cradling her close. Releasing her legs carefully, he used one hand to hold out his staff over the edge of the roof, then extended it once again until it reached the ground. 

Arm wrapped tightly around her waist, he pulled her as much against himself as he could, then stepped over the edge. The two of them slid down the pole until he landed in a crouch. Marinette’s legs barely brushed the floor, so great was the difference in their heights. As he resumed his normal height, he noticed a few stragglers around just becoming aware of his (or rather, their) presence. They pointed in surprise and alarm before quickly running off in another direction. Chat sneered at them all- _ cowards- _ before using his baton to launch himself and the girl he was carrying out of sight.

They vaulted at roof level for a few blocks until they reached Marinette’s terrace. Chat set her down on the lounge chair carefully, then stood there as though considering whether or not to put her to bed. It seemed that his concern about low night temperatures eventually won out, and with only a slight creak, he lifted the hatch leading down. Once she was safely wrapped around him again- arms on his neck and legs loosely hanging against his abdomen, he climbed down to the loft. Setting her down was its own matter, though. She was clinging to him tightly enough that he had to crouch down to his hands and knees to comfortably release her. With her hair splaying on the pillow all around her head, her thick black lashes contrasted against her pale skin, and the slight pink of her sleep-addled cheeks, she looked like an angel.

Chat leaned in a little further. As he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, the long blond locks that dangled on either side of his face mingled with her midnight tresses. He pulled back and considered her face once more, then appeared to lean in again, this time lower.

But before his lips reached their destination, there was a thud somewhere in the room, and, as if suddenly aware he could be caught at any moment, he hastily climbed up the ladder and launched away from the building.

In a corner of the room, hidden by Marinette’s toppled figurines, Tikki watched the akumatized hero flee into the night. She made her way over to her chosen, content that he would not be back that night, and curled up in the curve of her neck to sleep.

Morning brought its own surprises. Marinette couldn’t remember how or when she got home, and brushed off the oddity of going to bed in her own clothes without any recollection of doing so. She felt much more rested than she had the day before, though, and appeared much better for the wear once she showered and dressed for school.

If only the rest of the day went so well.

It wasn’t long after lunch when she felt a vibration in her pocket. As conspicuously as she could, she slid her phone out until she could see the notifications. It didn’t escape her notice that nearly every other person in the room was doing the same, so it was less than surprising when an akuma alert appeared on the screen.

Alya was already vibrating in her seat, no doubt looking for an excuse to leave the classroom. Marinette had to beat her to it.

“Miss Bustier!” the noirette quickly called out as she rose up out of her chair, hand raised.

The redhead beside her and the redhead at the front of the room, along with everyone else, turned in surprise in her direction.

“May I go to the bathroom?”

The teacher stood there for second, considering whether it was a good idea to let her go. It didn’t seem the akuma was close by as there was no lockdown in the building, but Marinette had a habit of disappearing during akuma attacks and not returning for long periods of time.

Hesitantly, she answered, “All... right. Please be quick, Marinette.”

The girl was half way out of her seat when Alya attempted to tag along.

“Ah, Miss Cesaire,” Miss Bustier began, “where are you going?”

“Oh, uh,” the bespectacled girl shifted a little on her feet, anxious to leave. “Marinette... needs my help.”

“Oh?” The older woman raised an eyebrow.

“Yea,” Alya continued, gaining confidence. “You know, Miss. _ Girl _ problems.”

More than a few people in the room snickered, and Marinette blushed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her friend. Still, she played along.

“Um, yes, Miss. Alya has some things I need. In her locker. For gym. On the other side of the school. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

The teacher looked at them skeptically, but slowly nodded in assent.

“Please do.”

“Thanks, Miss!” Alya practically shouted, running for the door ahead of Marinette and pulling the girl behind her.

They barely made it down the hall before Alya let go of her wrist and headed for the exit.

Marinette considered stopping and teasing her, but decided she couldn’t waste any time. Instead, she ducked into the nearest empty locker room, made sure no one was around, and transformed.

A few seconds later, Ladybug jumped out of a window and swung away. When she landed on a nearby rooftop, she opened up her communicator to check for indications in the news of where the akuma was. It stung a little, knowing her partner wouldn’t be joining her- at least, not helping her, and even then, it wasn’t really her partner. Very little information was available online, though, so she resolved instead to head toward the busiest districts first, then follow any signs she encountered along the way.

So it was that, as she was passing through the eighteenth arrondissement, flying over the streets of Montmartre, a subtle rumble caught her attention, accompanied by a slight tremble of some of the buildings nearby. Ladybug slowed and came to a rest on a rooftop, eyes searching the area for the source of the disturbance. A few streets away, she caught the sound of a car alarm, followed by another round of shudder and vibration.

It took her less than a minute to reach the spot where the car alarm was sounding, only to find the space generally empty. Of course, there were a few cars along the street that had been somehow pushed out of the way, but more or less without any damage. As she looked around, puzzled and frowning, she heard a roar a few blocks down.

With incredible speed, she traversed the distance, soaring over the building and landing in a perfectly poised crouch in front of what appeared to be another akuma. This time, the victim was intimidatingly large, with a body like rock, thick and stout. Every step the being took set off a tremor in the ground, and it seemed to have no trouble pushing 1300 kilogram objects out of its path. From her position, though, Ladybug could see that the akuma was particularly incensed. As she stood there, sizing up the situation, she realized there was a struggle going on between the akuma and something else, something she couldn’t see.

The roar she heard had been one of frustration. She sprinted fluidly, using a car as almost a ramp, her yo-yo briefly connecting with the overhang of the closest building before letting go, and made her way up to the top of the akuma’s head. The miniature giant responded by stretching both rocky arms out on either side of its body, flexed at the elbows, and clenching its fists, accompanied by another roar. With the few seconds she had, Ladybug attempted to discover the akumatized object on the being’s body, only to find herself distracted when she realized what the akuma was struggling with. In one of its closed fists, was a white, angry, hissing Chat Noir.

The sight of him, though not entirely surprisingly, was enough to throw her off guard. With the free hand, the akuma swatted at her like a fly, knocking her off her perch. Ladybug tucked reactively into a roll, using the momentum of the fall to put distance between herself and the angered villain. She could see a butterfly flash over its face, but the akuma seemed to be resistant to whatever Hawkmoth was telling it. The brief window of time afforded her the opportunity to check out Chat, who was still writing and seething in the giant’s grip. She saw him attempt to bite down on the hand around his body a few times, but the efforts proved fruitless.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if he was capable of using a Calamity, and if he would do so. Whatever he did as an akuma, she knew without a doubt, he would continue to blame himself for it forever. She had to protect the akuma _and_ Chat Noir. Tossing her yo-yo into the air, she cried, “Lucky Charm!” only for, of course, nothing to fall into her hands.

Grunting in frustration, she cast her eyes quickly about, searching for any idea to help her defeat this villain. By that point, the akuma had already ceased whatever communication it had with Hawkmoth, and was focused on the comparatively tiny, angry cat in its fist. Ladybug watched in horror as it appeared to tighten its grip, Chat’s cries turning from anger to pain.

“HEY!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, legs carrying her forward before she even thought about moving. Her yo-yo wrapped around the akuma’s legs (ankles? She couldn’t tell). Pulling the string tight, she yanked just as it began to take a step. With a surprised shout and a loud crash, it tripped over its own bound feet and toppled over, landing on its back.

Ladybug cast again. Her yo-yo grabbed the edge of a roof, propelling her into the air.

The akuma’s eyes flew straight to her, narrowing dangerously as she closed the distance between them. She landed (more or less) on a rocky shoulder. The akuma’s empty hand reached up to swat at her, but before it could touch her, she jumped out of the way. Like something out of a movie, rocky hand connected with rocky face, and she used the momentary distraction to tie her tool around the akuma’s thumb. Chat’s eyes met hers for a moment, and she could almost swear that she saw her partner- her _real_ partner- in there somewhere.

“Chat. I’m coming,” she managed to say before taking off again at a run, purposely catching the string around a series of light posts along the street and pulling with all her strength.

The impenetrable thumb displaced, giving Chat enough room to wiggle free. Arms now released, he used the other fingers wrapped around him as leverage to hoist himself up just before the other hand came barreling in his direction. True to his dexterous nature, he hopped out of reach, hissing as he did.

Ladybug retracted her string in the blink of an eye, then shouted, “Chat, get out of here!”

He didn’t even bother turning to her, but growled from where he was standing, knees bent and claws ready to strike.

Slowly, almost comically so, the akuma clumsily rose to its feet, snarling at the white-clad boy.

“Time to teach you to mind your elders,” it seemed to gurgle, so distorted was the voice.

Chat let out a particularly infuriated hiss, ears stretching back flat against his head, tail lashing dangerously. The two looked ready to charge each other at any moment.

All at once, they launched toward each other, so Ladybug did the only thing she could do. She threw her yo-yo, catching it around Chat Noir’s body, and pulled him out of the way. He landed beside her in a snarling mess, curses falling from his lips like puns once did.

The akuma didn’t wait for them to sort out their issues, however. It immediately turned and headed for the momentarily disabled cat.

Ladybug bounded up high, coming to land in front of the tangled boy, ready to fight.

“Don’t touch him,” she growled, retracting her yo-yo without taking her eyes off the enemy in front of her.

The akuma roared again, but the sound transitioned into something much less definable, almost pained. Its eyes scrunched as she watched warily, taking a step or two back. Then it seemed to curl in on itself, elbows tucking into its stomach as it fell to its knees. There, on the ground, the large form was suddenly engulfed in purple, which coalesced into a tiny butterfly. What was left behind was a confused, disoriented man.

Though surprised by the turn of events, she immediately threw her yo-yo toward the escaping insect, determined to purify it before Chat had a chance to catch and eat it.

With a slice of her finger along the seam, the compact opened, revealing a pure, white butterfly.

But as it flew up and away, it landed in someone’s hand. A hand covered in black gloves.

Ladybug gazed up into the silver face of Hawkmoth.

“Not doing a very good job at leashing your pet, are you, Ladybug?”

The scarlet heroine curled her lip in disgust.

“Well, if someone would stop sending him akumas!”

Hawkmoth’s hand closed over the insect, and he glared down at her from his perch on the edge of a roof.

“Just like a child to defer responsibility. Perhaps I misplaced my trust in you.”

The scarlet hero scoffed. _She_ was the untrustworthy one?

“Looks like I’m doing something right then.”

“Well," he said, almost to himself, "if you want something done right....” Then he trailed off, eyes flickering slightly behind her, no doubt to her huffing former partner. “Chat Noir,” he addressed the boy cooly. Ladybug heard another hiss. Her arch enemy’s eyes darkened. “Stop this foolish nonsense. Time to go home.”

Chat growled, then suddenly bounded past her, calling out at the top of his lungs, “_CALAMITY_!”

Before she had an opportunity to react, though, he touched the base of a light post, almost reveling as it melted into goo, giving off that sulfuric smell before the lamp itself toppled over. Hawkmoth was forced to jump to the side, or else be crushed underneath it. He looked down at the villainized hero with a sneer.

“Don’t think I’ll forget this when this is all over,” he said threateningly.

Chat sneered back.

“I’m counting on it.”

And with that, he took off at an impressive pace, leaving the reluctant allies alone.

Their wary regard of each other soon evolved into a staring match, but the ending of the akuma battle meant people would inevitably be returning to the area, and they would both have to take their leave before that happened. Finally, Hawkmoth broke the silence.

“We’ll discuss this later.”

Why did she get the feeling like she was being scolded by her father?

If she and her father hated each other with a burning passion.

“Can’t wait,” she gritted out, then watched as he disappeared from view. Once convinced he wasn’t hiding somewhere to follow her home and learn her identity, she flew up and away, swinging over several rooftops and blocks until she found an alley close to a subway that looked safe enough to detransform.

Only, when she called out the detransformation phrase, she was met with a concerning result.

The effect was almost like what happens to a bottle of carbonated liquid when it is shaken and then opened. At first, there was almost no change. But then it started in sputters, and gradually the light encompassed her whole body, lasting longer than usual on her skin, until finally her suit had disappeared completely. With a hand to her chest, Marinette leaned against the wall of the alley and tried to slow the beating of her heart.

Tikki floated in front of her, worried expression on her face.

“Tikki, was that what I think it just was? Did I almost just not detransform?”

The kwami’s big, blue eyes diverted to the side for a second.

“Marinette, I... I think we need to find Chat Noir as soon as possible.”

The raven-haired girl let her head fall back against the bricks, blue sky taking over her vision as she did her best to breathe deep.

“Tikki, I think we need help.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has a talk with Master Fu and a run-in with the still-akumatized Chat Noir. More complications arise, forcing her to make some decisions... and start formulating a plan of action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellloooo, everyone! No, I'm not dead! No, this fic isn't either! UwU
> 
> This chapter's been sitting in my docs for the last six months, more than half-finished already. I've been working on it a little for the last few weeks until it was long enough to post.
> 
> I'm in my last semester before I graduate so, yay! But also, yikes! I'm super busy and have very little time to work on my (beloved, numerous, anxiety-raising) fics. Still, just like I've always promised, if I started it, I will finish it! Basically, this is just me saying that no matter which of my stories you might like and hope updates soon, I will try my best! I've also got incomplete drafts of Brotherly Love and Expectations in my docs, but I can't be sure when I'll have them ready for posting either. Just thought I'd throw that out there for anyone who might be waiting for them. I know its been six months or more already since I updated Brotherly Love. I also have a couple of other one-shots that are partially written, but haven't had time to finish either. No spoilers.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for humoring my rant! I hope you enjoy this update! The plot is beginning to take shape!
> 
> <3 Muse

Marinette stumbled down an alleyway and rounded the corner. At last, after walking for at least an hour, physically depleted and unwilling to transform, she arrived in front of Master Fu’s massage parlor. She lifted a fist to knock on the front door, but it opened before she ever got the chance.

A concerned looking Master Fu stood in the doorway.

“Ladybug,” he greeted quietly and stepped back. “Please, come in.” 

Once the girl had cleared the door, he closed it behind them and led her to the treatment studio. She took a relieved seat on the mat while he walked over to prepare some tea. The smells of herbs she didn’t recognize reached her, dissipating some of the discomfort and lethargy that had settled into her body. At last, the old man carefully carried a small cup of something dark and murky river-green to the table and set it down.

“Please, drink,” he said, then took a seat perpendicular to her.

Marinette slowly lifted the cup to her lips. It was hot enough to scald, and the taste was bitter, but she took several sips anyway. The effect was immediate. Most of the general ache and heaviness that was steadily growing within her diminished dramatically, though a fraction of it still remained. Master Fu watched her silently as she drank, but said nothing for several minutes. His eyes were always so mysterious, but at the same time, never worried. Now, as she watched him watching her, Marinette wondered if she didn’t seem a little bit of fear in those ancient eyes. She decided to speak up.

“Master Fu,” she began, setting down her mostly empty cup in its saucer, but he interrupted before she could get very far.

“My dear Ladybug, there is something important that we must discuss.”

Marinette immediately stopped what she was saying and nodded obediently.

“Wayzz has detected a change in the miraculous. The akuma is integrating itself with Chat Noir’s physical being, though I do not know how.”

“He’s eaten them,” she couldn’t help interjecting. “Chat, he’s not just infected by an akuma- he’s taken control of it by first freeing it from whatever object it had attached itself to, and then eating it. And it’s not the only one. He’s done it at least once more that I know of.”

The old master’s face changed from worried to grave.

“If that is the case, then what Chat Noir has done is to absorb the darkness of the akuma in its purest form. The butterflies Hawkmoth breeds are simply hosts for the evil energy he imbues them with. The power is like a virus, infecting anything living it comes into contact with. That is why akumas never attach themselves to living things. By destroying the carrier, Chat Noir absorbs the power directly. It will integrate into his body, slowly destroying it from the inside out. Chat Noir will gradually lose control over even himself. Eventually, his heart will not be able to sustain him any longer.”

Tears began to roll down Marinette’s face as she considered such a fate for her partner. Her eyes scrunched shut tightly, and her mind raced for a solution.

“I have to find him, today,” she uttered in a panicked voice. “I can’t lose Chat Noir- I _ can’t _ . And I don’t give a damn about me or what happens to me, but just not _ him _-”

“Ladybug.”

Marinette opened her eyes to look at the man before her. Her entire being begged him to tell her there was a way to fix the whole horrific situation.

“The tea you drank today has momentarily restored your chi. As Chat Noir’s miraculous and essence fall further out of balance, yours will do the same. Transforming will only accelerate the change.”

Her eyes widened, and her jaw opened, but she couldn’t make a sound.

“You may have already begun to experience complications with your transformation.”

Marinette nodded dumbly.

“There was that time my Lucky Charm didn’t work. And just now… I almost couldn’t detransform.”

Master Fu nodded and stroked his goatee thoughtfully.

“The tea is but a temporary solution. Once you transform into Ladybug again, you may not be able to return to your regular form. You will also find that the longer you remain Ladybug, the more it will drain your energy. It will take longer than Chat Noir, but eventually, you will meet a similar fate.”

She swallowed, a heavy weight pressing down on her chest so that it was difficult to do so.

“Can I use any other miraculous in the meantime?”

A slow shake of the head was her answer.

“I am truly sorry, Ladybug, but doing so could corrupt the power of any of the other miraculouses. However,” and here a spark lit behind his eye. He rose and turned, then walked toward the miracle box disguised as an old gramophone. With the push of a few buttons, it opened, and he turned to face her again. “You may choose someone you trust to aid you in this fight.”

Marinette stood and walked toward the box, staring at the jewelry within. It broke her heart to see the empty yin-yang at the center where her earrings and Chat’s ring once sat. They were supposed to balance each other out, but instead they were dragging each other toward ruin.

Her fingers ran over a few items- the monkey, the rabbit, the dragon- but ultimately she settled on two. Lifting them up in her hands, she held them out to her master.

A fox tail necklace and a snake bracelet rested in her palms.

“Master Fu, would you please make sure these get to their owners? I’ll make contact with them soon.”

The old man smiled warmly at her and accepted them.

“Of course, my Ladybug.”

The walk home was much more comfortable, thanks to the tea she drank at Master Fu’s. But when she arrived home and switched on her dead phone, she was met with several messages in her notifications.

_Maman: Marinette, where are you? _

_ Maman: The school called and said you left after lunch and haven’t returned _

_ Maman: You better call me, young lady _

_ Maman: Sorry, dear. Alya told me you’ve been pretty upset lately and needed some time _

_ Maman: Call me if you need anything _

_Alya: Hey gurl you mom called and I covered for you _

_ Alya: But seriously where are u? _

_Nino: Dudette you gotta call my girl _

_ Nino: I think she’s gonna have a massive freakout soon _

_ Nino: Too late she’s halfway to organizing a search party _

_ Nino: I got her to calm down but send her a text or something plz? _

And then there was one from an unknown number. Marinette looked at the message and frowned.

_Unknown: We need to talk _

Just as she was about to delete the message without responding, another notification lit up her screen.

_Unknown: Be at the place we last saw each other tonight at midnight _

And then another.

_Unknown: I’ll be waiting, princess. _

Marinette’s mind and heart raced, and her lungs felt emptied of air. Feeling the strength in her legs fail, she collapsed down onto the chaise and stared into space, her phone falling out of a limp hand onto the floor.

Chat Noir wanted to see her.

Chat Noir wanted to see _ her. _

But… _ why? _

She sat there, unmoving, doing her utmost to remember _ when _ was the last time she had seen Chat Noir as herself, and _ where _ were they?

Was it the day they fought that sentimonster? But… which one? She couldn’t remember.

No, it had to be much later than any of them.

She thought as hard as she could, racking her brain for the last time Chat Noir saw Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

And then it came to her.

Night eventually descended, and her parents went to sleep. Marinette pretended to dress and get ready for bed, but she simply laid there, too awake to fall asleep, even if she wanted to, and watched the clock as time churned slowly on. At last, 23:30 rolled around, and she deftly, quietly, climbed out of bed, tossing on a heavy cardigan and some comfortable lounge pants over her usual short sleep shorts. There was no way she could leave as Ladybug, so she tiptoed as silently as she could down the stairs to the main level, and out the front door.

It wasn’t exactly safe to walk the streets of Paris at night, but if Marinette knew her kitty, he would probably be watching her every step of the way, and may have had eyes on her for longer than she knew. All the same, she made sure to take her phone with her, Alya’s contact open and ready to dial in case of an emergency. Worst came to worst, she told herself, she could always transform.

As she walked along, a prickling feeling on the back of her neck told her someone indeed was watching her, probably following behind from the rooftops. She didn’t dare turn and check, though, but crossed her arms a little tighter across herself and kept walking. At last, she arrived at the place Chat Noir had meant. She stopped where the Pont Neuf bridge met the Voie George Pompidou and looked around. 

The streets were relatively deserted, though plenty of people still ambled about, despite the time. Her eyes cast nervously about, wondering where Chat was at the moment, and how he would reveal himself to her without exposing his presence to anyone else who might pass by. A lamp nearby flickered incessantly.

Sure he would never approach her unless she was somehow concealed, she walked under the bridge and waited, the shadow of the structure casting her into darkness. Within a few minutes, a quiet thud sounded behind her, and she turned around to see Chat Noir’s wild, glowing green eyes. Instinctively, she took a step back.

“Chat Noir,” she said, though it felt wrong. Not only was he not really her Chat Noir, but, well, he was _ white. _

White teeth to match his white suit gleamed in the dark.

“_Purr_-incess,” he replied, stepping closer.

“Wha- what do you want?” she asked, then mentally kicked herself for stammering, even just barely.

He was close enough now for her to see where the toxic green of his eyes ended and the pupils began, but she refused to back away.

Chat leaned closer until his warm breath tickled her lips, raising one white gloved hand up to brush the back of his knuckles over her cheek. He smelled of Camembert.

“Marinette, Marinette, Marinette,” he murmured, mysterious smirk on his face. The way he said her name was like a secret, something only he knew. Then he shifted a bit to the side and spoke lowly in her ear. “Do you know, you’re the only person who’s ever come close to Ladybug in my eyes?” A claw brushed over one of her earrings.

Marinette pulled away and attempted to cover her nervousness with a dismissive scoff.

“Really, Chat Noir?” She reached up and pulled her purse strap tighter on her shoulder, gripping it in an effort to conceal a tremor in her hands. “That’s what you called me out here in the middle of the night to tell me-”

Chat reached up and grabbed her wrist in an almost painful grip and pulled her closer. The warmth and mischievous playfulness in his eyes had been replaced by something darker, something more primal.

“Where were you last night?”

There was no tease in his voice, no flirty tone or mirth. The green of his eyes darkened until they resembled something akin to the forest floor of a dense jungle.

“What? I was.. at home, Chat-”

“No, you weren’t.” His grip tightened a bit more. “You were on top of Notre Dame. Now tell me, _ princess, _ what were you doing there? How did you get up that high?”

Marinette paled, her mouth opening and closing, though no sound came out.

She didn’t remember getting home, but she did remember stopping to rest on the roof of Notre Dame. After that, she couldn’t recall.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she tried as she pulled at the wrist in his grip, though she couldn’t make herself meet his eyes. “How is that even possible? I-”

“It _ is_,” he practically growled, but didn’t let her go. 

At last, she raised her eyes and looked into his. They were stormy and deep, and she wondered whether she should skip the phone call and go straight for the transformation. At the very least, it would probably take him by surprise, and she might be able to catch him off guard.

But how was she supposed to purify him?

She hadn’t figured that part out yet.

In her purse, Tikki nudged her softly against a leg, and she took comfort in that.

“Chat,” she tried again, her voice much quieter this time, no longer struggling for control. “_Please. _You’re hurting me.”

He stared at her for a moment longer, his eyes betraying some sort of war within himself. The hand gripping her wrist began to shake, but didn’t quite release. She waited, patient, until the fingers loosened and slowly let go before pulling her arm back toward herself. Chat stood there, hand still raised and hovering as if conflicted over what to do next.

“I-” Marinette’s low voice caught, and she stopped to clear her throat. “I should be getting home now.”

But as she turned to walk away, something grabbed onto her arm and spun her around. She was about to cry out in protest, but before she could, her lips were smothered by someone else’s.

Chat’s. They were Chat Noir’s. Chat Noir was smothering her mouth with his to keep her quiet-

Wait, no. That wasn’t right.

Marinette stood there, shocked, for several seconds as she processed what was happening. Nothing, not his closed eyes or tilted head, nor the arm that was wrapped around her waist and pulling her close, nothing made her realize that Chat Noir- an _ akumatized _ Chat Noir- was kissing her until she felt his tongue sliding between her lips.

He tasted like cheese and grapes.

As soon as her brain caught up with… well, _ everything_, Marinette pushed him violently by the shoulders. The boy formerly known as her partner looked at her with eyes wide and lips still parted, seemingly confused by the turn of events.

“Chat.” He startled visibly at the tone of her voice. “I want to go home. Let me go now.”

There were a few seconds of tense silence between them. Then she spun on her heel and headed for the lighted part of the path.

“Wait!”

He reached for her elbow again, but this time she was prepared. Still in possession of her super reflexes, Marinette immediately turned and grasped the offending hand, ducking under it and twisting it behind its owner’s back in one smooth movement. Never mind that Chat could easily twist out of her hold, super suit or not. She wanted him to know she wasn’t something to be trifled with.

He seemed to take a breath as she held onto him. His blond head hung, and he inhaled deeply, then let it out in a shudder.

“Marinette, I need you to let go, or I don’t know if I can control what I do.”

She could hear the grit in his teeth and wisely dropped his arm. He turned slowly around and faced her.

“Please don’t do that again,” she murmured.

“Likewise,” he returned.

Marinette’s eyes shifted to the side and focused on the wall, hands clasped nervously in front of her.

“Who is it, and why do you love him?”

The question was startling, and she whipped her head forward to find earnest eyes searching her own. She was a bit breathless as she dubiously asked, “What?”

“You heard me.”

The noirette swallowed and looked back to the wall.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.”

She could hear it- the edge in his voice, the teetering somewhere on the line between anger and insanity. She had no idea what his problem with Adrien was, but she didn’t want to risk bringing up his name and pushing him over that already precarious precipice. Besides, it didn’t matter. Chat Noir wasn’t Adrien, and none of this was going to lead her to freeing her partner.

“It’s not important, and I don’t want to tell you, not like this.”

Chat frowned and took an agitated step forward. His claws twitched at his sides.

“Why not? I can handle it. It can’t be that bad. Is it Kim?”

Marinette gave him a deadpan expression, but he ignored it and kept talking.

“Max? Nathanael? Luka? I know it’s not Ivan because he’s with Mylène. It isn’t Nino, is it?”

She sighed, frustrated.

“No, Chat, that’s not-”

“Oh, wait. I didn’t even consider if you liked girls. Is it Alix? Juleka? But she’s with Rose. And Alya is with Nino, but I guess that could still be a possibility.”

The girl crossed her arms and tapped her foot, but said nothing as he continued to ramble.

“But, who else could it be? You don’t really spend time with anyone else. I mean, it can’t be _ Adrien_,” and as he said the name, his voice dripped with disgust.

Despite her best efforts, Marinette tensed at that, her rhythmic tapping stuttering to a stop immediately. She tried to pretend like nothing was wrong by checking the time on her wrist, but it was too late. Chat had already seen.

“Adrien?” he practically growled. “_Agreste?” _ His lips pulled back into a snarl, and he stepped closer.

“Wh- what?” Marinette tried, backing away. “Th- that’s crazy.” But the stammer in her unusually high-pitched voice and the blush on her cheeks were a dead giveaway.

Suddenly, she was back against the wall, and Chat Noir was leaning into her face, one arm on either side of her head, palms flat against the hard surface. She looked back and forth between his eyes, searching for a sign that he would snap, but all she saw behind his gaze was a raging tempest.

“Why _ him?_” he whispered. “Why does it have to be _ him?_” 

As he said the words, a grating noise sounded by her ear. A glance to the side told her he had dug his claws into the stone wall. She licked her lips absent-mindedly and wondered what it would take to get out of the situation.

He was already close, but he leaned in further. With nowhere to go, she closed her eyes tightly and turned her head to the side, only to be surprised when he simply rested his forehead against the stones.

“_Princess_,” he breathed.

She peeked her eyes open, first one and then the other.

“Chat, I-”

“Get out of here.”

Marinette blinked, shocked and a little confused.

“Get _ out _ of here,” he said again, a little fury bleeding into his voice.

“I can’t-”

“_Damnit, Marinette!_” Wild eyes met her as he grabbed both her wrists in his hands and slammed them against the wall. “_Why are you so goddamn stubborn?!_”

She set her jaw, and her mind did a million calculations in a minute of how she could catch Chat Noir off guard long enough to run, but she wasn’t quite ready to resort to doing that yet. Maybe this was her chance.

Her brow furrowed angrily, and her lips curled back in righteous indignation.

“Just what do you have against Adrien Agreste?!” she practically screamed, acutely aware that Chat had her in his grip, but not desperate enough yet to escape. “Why do you hate him? What did he ever do to you?!”

“_He existed!_”

Marinette stopped, stunned into silence, as Chat panted in front of her.

“He has taken _ everything _ away from me! Just by _existing_, he’s ruined my life!”

She gaped there, speechless, as he squeezed his eyes shut and rested his head against her shoulder, wrists still held in his grip.

“_Marinette_,” he whimpered, “_everything he touches, everything I care about, is ripped away from me. Please. I can’t lose you, too._”

Tentatively, the dumbfounded girl twisted an arm just slightly and, finding it wasn’t completely restricted, carefully pulled it from Chat’s gloved fingers. Slowly, cautiously, she lifted her hand and placed it on his back, which was hunching over her form.

“You won’t,” she practically whispered. “You’re not.”

Something wet landed on her exposed skin, and she realized he was crying.

“I already have,” he countered, then stood straight, arms dropping to his sides.

His eyes were no longer manic, and if she had to guess, then under that white mask and green sclera, they were most likely puffy and bloodshot.

“Don’t worry,” he said, raising a hand to caress her cheek. “Once I take Hawkmoth down, you won’t ever have to worry about me again.”

Marinette frowned deeper at that and opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped when Chat leaned in and gave her the lightest of kisses. It was quick, and he stepped further back as he pulled away.

“Chat?”

He kept moving backward, eyes fixed on her, until he was illuminated by the street lights.

“Be careful, princess.”

Then his baton extended, and he vaulted up over the bridge and out of sight.

Marinette stood there for long moments before the chill of the night air and her own exhaustion prompted her to head toward home.

And as she walked along the streets, she could feel the eyes of someone watching her, but she didn’t feel afraid.

When dawn broke the following morning and she rose out of bed, she noted the feeling of fullness around her eyes. All at once, the events from the night before came flooding back to her. She stumbled lethargically to the restroom, more emotionally exhausted than physically, and confronted her own reflection in the mirror. Sure enough, her eyes were swollen, not unexpected after she cried herself to sleep.

What was her partner going through? The thought ran through her head on repeat. Deep inside, was he aware? Did he feel afraid? With a sigh, she reached for her toothbrush and did her best to make herself presentable. Some concealer helped hide the redness around her eyes, but the puffiness was impossible to disguise. She shrugged, not entirely concerned, and returned to her room to change her clothes. Lifting her phone to check the time, Marinette did a double take.

Just as it was programmed to do, her phone was showing on-screen notifications for recent articles related to Ladybug and Chat Noir. And at the top of the list-

“_What?_”

Walking into class less than an hour later was not Marinette’s most anticipated moment. She knew what was waiting for her before she even left the safe confines of her home. Her hand hadn’t yet touched the handle to the classroom door, and she could already hear Alya’s loud voice overwhelming several others. Marinette crossed into the room anyway, pausing only briefly before she mounted the steps on her way to her seat.

“-Ladybug is a hero- no way!” her friend practically shouted. “There’s no way she’d do something like that! There’s definitely got to be something else going on!”

The whole class seemed to be having, or at least watching, a single conversation. Everyone’s attention was directed toward the front of the room, where Alya stood beside a tired-looking Nino, who was slumping over in his chair, elbows on the desk. Her arms were raised, and she was gesturing excitedly while Kim, Alix, and Max stood facing her. From their positions and Kim’s constant, though unsuccessful, interruptions into her loud proclamations, it was clear they were having a tense debate. Marinette quietly took her seat and pulled her materials out from her bag.

Max managed to interject, “There is a one hundred percent certainty that the video has not been altered or fabricated.” He pushed his glasses up on his nose, his cell phone held out in front of him and Markov hovering off to the side.

The robot’s mechanical-sounding voice could be heard offering confirmation of Max’s assertion.

“That is correct. Although, a profile scan of the figure in the video suggests there is only a ninty-five percent probability the person is Ladybug.”

Marinette inhaled sharply, her mind reeling. What were they talking about? Almost as if on autopilot, she set out a pencil, a notepad, and her tablet on the desktop in front of her, her eyes staring, unfocused, at nothing in particular. Kim blew a raspberry, freely expressing his incredulity.

“Ninety-five? Max, I think your robot needs some rebooting. It’s obvious that it’s Ladybug-”

“Actually-” Markov went on, only to be interrupted by Miss Bustier’s sudden arrival.

“Everyone take a seat!” the teacher called.

Alix shrugged, heading nonchalantly back to her table. Kim lingered a moment as Alya turned to Max, who added, much more quietly:

“Because profile and face recognition software is still relatively new, it is almost impossible to identify anyone with absolute certainty. There is bound to be overlap with others who have similar features.”

He and Markov turned in the direction of their desk, preceded by Kim, but Alya stopped Max with a hand to his arm. The bot paused alongside its creator. A quick glance at Miss Bustier revealed her distraction with setting up the projection.

“Max,” the bespectacled redhead quietly called. “Who else did the computer think it could be?”

Max looked at Markov, which turned to Alya.

“That’s the interesting part. The software detected similarities to your classmate, Marinette.”

Three pairs of eyes immediately flew to the small raven-haired girl, two of them human and one of them pixelated. The pencil in Marinette’s hand slipped through her fingers and landed on the floor.

Class passed in a haze. Alya watched Marinette intently after that conversation, but couldn’t find the opportunity to raise the topic. It didn’t help that the noirette avoided her friend at all costs.

When the class bell rang, she shot out of her chair and headed for the door before the other girl even had her bag securely on her shoulder.

At lunch time, she lingered in the restroom, then snuck out through a side entrance and went home to eat.

In the afternoon, Marinette waited for Alya to begrudgingly leave the locker room (after having lingered for a while) before entering herself and retrieving the books she needed.

By the time school was over, she flew out of the building like a bat from hell.

She couldn’t return home, though, because that was surely the first place Alya would look for her. Instead, she headed in the opposite direction and ducked inside a shop she had never seen before. Finally able to breathe a little easier, Marinette pulled her phone out of her pocket and started scrolling through the news stories, which had only grown in number since that morning.

She could still see the headline that first attracted her attention:

_ Paris’s Heroes Turned Villains? _

Opening the link, she scrolled down and connected her headphones to the device in her hand, then tentatively pressed play on an embedded video.

The image on the screen turned slightly dark and out of focus. Some rustling echoed in her ear, followed by some whispering.

_ “No way,” _ an off-camera voice murmured. There was some jostling, then a brightness and the picture came into focus. In the distance, she could see herself in uniform, positioned between a white Chat Noir and the akuma victim from the day before. 

She stood, crouched, clearly positioned defensively, with her yo-yo held in a tense, outstretched arm. She seemed to say something to the akuma, but it was in a low tone of voice that was difficult to hear. Then the akuma roared, first in seeming rage transitioning almost into anguish. Purple seemed to bubble over its form, then collect into a tiny dot. The man left behind was ordinary, powerless, and sat hunching on the ground.

_ “Whoa,” _ the cameraman uttered. 

Ladybug could be seen straightening and purifying the escaping akuma, which, once white and free, began to flutter away. The camera panned, following the insect, before it suddenly landed on a newly arrived figure.

_ “Holy shit,” _ could be heard. _ “Is that…?” _

Marinette gasped when Hawkmoth appeared. A stone sank in her stomach. His voice, much louder than Ladybug’s previously, called out, “Not doing a very good job at leashing your pet, are you, Ladybug?”

Once again the camera panned back in Ladybug’s direction, but before it could reach her, she already had begun to yell, “Well, if someone would stop sending him akumas!”

_ “Oh my God,” _ the spectator whispered excitedly. _ “No way, no way, no way.” _

The camera turned, much more swiftly this time, back to the villain. Hawkmoth’s fist was closed tightly, the white butterfly no longer visible.

“Just like a child to defer responsibility,” he sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. “Perhaps I misplaced my trust in you.”

A low utterance of _ “What the fuck?” _ sounded in the audio.

The picture moved back to Ladybug again, catching the tail end of her response.

“Looks like I’m doing something right then.”

It stayed focused on her, but Hawkmoth could be heard speaking in the background.

“Well, if you want something done right…” he said. 

The person recording started to shift back to the villain, but upon hearing the masked man call Chat Noir’s name, the image instead reversed and settled on Chat’s akuma form. “Stop this foolish nonsense,” Hawkmoth continued. “Time to go home.”

On the screen, Chat seemed to bear his teeth, making for a feral sight. Suddenly, he ran past Ladybug, who watched in astonishment, and called out loudly:

“_CALAMITY_!”

The camera followed him, revealing how the hero-villain touched the base of a lamp with his bubbling white power, causing the tall, heavy object to topple over. By the time the frame had returned to Hawkmoth, he was standing to the side of the fallen light and was sneering contemptuously.

“Don’t think I’ll forget this when this is all over,” he warned.

Chat’s voice could be heard out of frame. 

“I’m counting on it.”

The camera returned to Ladybug, a white blur becoming smaller in the distance.

The spotted hero seemed to stare in Hawkmoth’s direction for several seconds before the person recording decided to pan back toward him. Almost immediately, he said, barely audibly, “We’ll discuss this later.”

The person videoing the whole exchange mumbled a few things under his breath.

Ladybug seemed to make a reply, but it was even more difficult to hear. After that, Hawkmoth disappeared beyond the rooftop where he was perched. Just before the video came to an end, the image returned to Ladybug, who was swinging away from the scene.

There was a few seconds of her increasingly small red form, and then:

_ “What just happened?” _

The playback button automatically appeared on screen, the video over. Scrolling down the webpage, she skimmed the article underneath the video link. Questions about Ladybug’s relationship with Hawkmoth. Theories that the two had been working together all along. With a shaking hand, Marinette pulled the headphone out of her ear and slumped over, cradling her face in her hands.

Of all the times for something like this to happen, she couldn’t imagine one worse. Every odd seemed to be against her.

Fighting alone, with her partner akumatized.

Without Lucky Charm or Miraculous cure.

Unable to transform, or risk being incapable of detransforming.

Endangered by the magic flowing through hers and her partner’s bodies.

By all appearances, working with the enemy.

Afraid of the choking sobs that were quickly rising up her throat, she fled the restaurant.

She only hoped no akumas would appear so quickly.

And she prayed there wasn’t one heading for her.

Marinette’s feet pounded the pavement, her mind racing at a million kilometers an hour, trying to think of what she should do next. She could only hope that Master Fu had delivered the miraculouses to Alya and Luka by then. Part of her regretted that she couldn’t give the turtle to Nino, but she couldn’t imagine leaving Master Fu without it. Should anything happen to her…

Well, she knew that for the time being, Wayzz was right where he should be.

She paused at an intersection, checking the traffic before crossing the street, then stopped. The bronze statue of her and Chat Noir from their first year as heroes stared back at her, taunting. Her partner, her beloved Chat Noir, looked so joyously at her from behind hollow, metallic eyes. 

Would she ever get to see that light in his eyes again?

Taking a steadying breath, she tried to clear the myriad of thoughts overwhelming her. Thoughts of her own inadequacy. Thoughts of worry and fear about what was happening to her partner, what would happen to them both if she didn’t save him. Thoughts about how she was going to do the impossible, how she could possibly be Ladybug when she couldn’t even be Ladybug. It felt like a storm swirling inside her.

Closing her eyes, she did her best to dredge up every mentoring session in which Master Fu guided her through meditation. People were walking all around her, but she couldn’t take the time to care whether or not they stared. She had to find the strength, the focus, the determination to transcend her fears. They would only hold her back.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes. It was an inkling of an idea, but it was a glimmer of hope. Else it was a desperate last ditch destined to fail.

Either way, it was her only option.

Launching into a brisk trot, she headed in the direction of home.

She had preparations to make.

In less than an hour, Marinette was back out on the streets, the light of the sun slowly waning in the sky. She had precious little time and much to do. With a messenger bag slung at her side, she hurried toward the metro. It was only a few stops later than she disembarked, then returned to the street level and hurried into an electronics store. In less than thirty minutes, she was out again, three cheap phones with pre-paid SIM cards in her bag. 

Another brief ride on the metro brought her to just outside Alya’s apartments. She tucked an enveloped addressed to her friend into the right postbox, no return address, typed and printed instead of handwritten. By the time she reached the metro for the final time of the evening, the shadows of the buildings were long and the remaining sunlight dim. She finally disembarked several stops later, then hurried down the quickly darkening street toward the Couffaine’s houseboat. She was just about to leave another envelope in their postbox when the quiet but audible thud of someone walking over the boatdeck reached her ears. A silhouette appeared on the opposite end of the gangway. Even in the dimness of dusk, she could see his black and blue-tipped hair. Luka stood, both hands resting on the ropes on either side, and cocked his head.

“Marinette?”

Slowly so as not to draw attention to it, Marinette retraced the envelope and tucked it into her messenger bag.

“Oh, h- hey… Luka.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know how you feel about this chapter, this story, my work in general, or anything you want! I'm so thankful for every single person who subscribes, kudos, comments, and read my scribbles~
> 
> And thanks for being patient while I work on this next achievement in my life. Gives me so many warm feelings ^_^
> 
> <3 Muse

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I look forward to posting more.
> 
> Please leave kudos if you liked it, or a comment to tell me what you think!
> 
> <3 Muse


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